Cheaper Than Dirt?

If you look at the PREMIUM PRICE, you'll see it isn't cheap. I seem to be the 1st to have noticed or told them of their mistake & they we're happy with me having been on their property & had taken the picture. The manager immediately went & changed the price. Gee, maybe I could have gotten a sandwich & drink if I had offered to delete it off my camera, LOL.
This dozer work isn't cheaper than dirt either. But the junkyard is getting cleaned up some. I took this picture & another that has to go to the judge as a progress report Tuesday. Thinking of the junkyard & the 3 drunks. The terrible looking trailer is no longer there. One drunk stole another's beer & ended up beating the one he stole the beer from with a 2 X 4. The beaten guy spent the night at the hospital. The other who did the beating & has the mean junkyard dog is in JAIL. He has called 20 or more times thinking the junkyard owner would bail him out, but it's not happening.
This was my dinner today, toasted cheese, with thick slices of Velvetta cheese. Delicious.
Here are 2 of the friendly German Shepherds at the junkyard. They are inside a fence though, as they would roam the neighborhood. There is also 1 more friendly one in the back who is chained because he won't stay on the property also. The closest one her in the picture will hardly let me get past him when I get inside the gate. He will come & lean on me & STEP ON MY TOE TO HOLD ME IN PLACE, LOL, until he is satisfied I have petted him enough. Then she get her turn, but then if I give her too much attention, he comes back & pushes his way in again. He is the biggest German Shepherd I have ever seen in height.

I've been helping at the junkyard hooking up the chain to move steel & vehicles. Got to get back before dark to help again as I HAVE THE LIGHT!!! Have a good week,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ron

Pig in a poke?

Well, not yet a Pig In A Poke, but is gonna be part of a HOG ROAST. The guy who owns the cage said the next one he catches we can have. Bob, who works here asked if he could buy one, but found out we'd get it free. The wild pig, maybe sow, as it looks like she has had baby pigs or is expecting, is small, skinny, to what we raise on farms. She has what appears to be a MOHAWK running up her back, maybe just the hair standing up as I was there, I'm not sure, but she did charge me as I got closer to the cage.
I'm sure glad she was inside. I did notice at the end of the cage though that there was a place that needed repaired. If she had seen that, she could have forced her snout through it & gotten out. I had a farmer friend I worked for who when he was in the lot with his domestic hogs that something happened & the pigs ate him. I got bit once by an unhappy pig as we were trying to load them to go to market. (MAYBE THAT ONE UNDERSTOOD WHEN HE GOT LOADED INTO THE TRUCK HIS LIFE WAS NEAR THE END, LOL). On the good side of hogs though, I raised pigs in 4-H & had pigs who were pets. Scratch them everywhere just like a dog & they end up being pets. I even slept with my guilt the night she had her pigs. Dad came out the next morning & I was still asleep in the hog house when he raised the lid.

I enlarged this wild pig's picture, using Picasa2, which the computer geeks taught me, http://geeksontour.com/ & saw she has brown eyes & a bloody snout, probably from ramming the cage, trying to get out. She rammed the cage several times when I was there taking her picture. Domestic hogs I know are nearsighted.

All for now. Got to get checked out. Have a good weekend,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ron

Squirrel

This morning I went looking to see if any of the wild pigs had been caught in the trap cages, but no luck.

So then I was checking to see about walking the pup named Roscoe, so had to go to Richard's trailer. As we were there talking, this squirrel walked right up to us on the sidewalk. But when I moved to bring the camera up to take it's picture, it went onto the tree. Just as I took the 1st picture it moved, so I got a TREE PICTURE!!! Then we noticed it stopped on a small branch. Besides me taking it's picture, Richard said it was checking us out. Probably thinking maybe we'd feed it. So many campers here feed them that they are pretty brave & come right up to people. In the bad respect, they are a nuisance & I have a friend who had a squirrel who was thirsty & chewed a water line into under their trailer.

Got to move out of the campgrounds tomorrow for a week. Going to the junkyard, so not sure when you'll hear from me again. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a week. Just hope to find something to photograph.

Weather pattern is staying the same here. Lower 90's & 50% chance of rain everyday. Yesterday, I heard 1 clap of thunder, but no rain.

Have a good week,,,,,Ron

Butterfly

I went for a walk on the nature trail a few days ago. I saw a red & black what appeared to be a bumble bee, but I've been told it is poisonous & could be deadly, but I wanted a picture of it, so I went for a walk, which was good for me anyway. Need to do it everyday. My doctor wants me to walk 2 miles a day. So anyway I got to see these pretty butterflies close to the river.
Walking along the Peace River, also looking for an alligator, I did find this "RED BELLIED TURTLE". Did I say say "RED BELLIED"? Looks like a yellow bellied to me, but that's it's name.
At the end of the trail, I saw this heron, I think Blue Heron. A small stream he was sitting beside, maybe waiting for something to eat. Anyway this small stream feeds into the Peace River in the foreground of the picture.
This is one of the numerous lizards around the clubhouse. They eat insects I hear. Wish they'd eat mosquito's or love bugs or roaches. I saw one roach down here at least 2" long. Last time I pulled up my sewer hose, he came out of the sewer. Hope they don't get into the bus.
Last time after sending the chainsaw carvings, I saw these. A Armadillo in the foreground & 2 bears.

Last blog, I used a term, that I seemed familiar with, even though I didn't know the spelling or exact meaning. Well, a friend of mine, Steve, who is into veggie oil & living off the grid, looked it up for me. See the link: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lackadaisical

I also was happy to hear on the news that Drew Carey, not Rosie O'Donnell is going to be the new host of "THE PRICE IS RIGHT", come fall. Maybe all of us voting in that e-mail to NOT HAVE ROSIE O'DONNELL did have some input to CBS.

Been cloudy all day & comfortable. I heard 1 clap of thunder & unplugged the computer for awhile, but haven't heard any since. Tomorrow is HUMP DAY, so hope you are having a good week. Ron

You Might Be A Redneck If...............

You haul fence on your fishing boat, LOL. I met this guy at the veggie stand today, but I didn't have my camera with me, so I talked him into stopping by the campground so I could get this picture. He used to be a mechanical contractor. So now that he is retired, he doesn't own a truck. He said he hauled 6-7 pieces to his job site & had this one left over to take back. Guess I'm getting lacidasial, (IS THAT A WORD?-seems like I've heard that term-meaning not to care), attitude about carrying my camera, not thinking there is anything to take pictures of staying right here in this campground. Yesterday as I walked the nature trail, I didn't take the camera with me either & I saw what looked like a red & black bumble bee, not yellow & black. I was told it was a poisonous bee.

I took this picture the other day, but couldn't fit it on the blog. About 7-8 people in the pool. It has cooled off some because of the rain thank goodness. The temperature of the pool was up over 95 degrees. Then we have had rain cooling it off. This evening we had a thunderstorm with 1.1" of rain, so I'm sure the pool will be a much more comfortable temperature. I talked to a friend in NY & she said the pool is chilly there, but the daytime heat is hot.

Hope you all have a good week,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ron

Peeping Tom

Not much going on, so finally getting around to taking pictures I've been aiming to take for a long time. There is a guy who camps here in the winter who does chainsaw carving. These are some he left behind. This 1st picture is a lizard looking into the laundry room.

I took another picture of a small alligator, but not as glorious nor space to put it in here.

This is the alligator out beside the shuffleboard courts. It got some green paint on it's top, plus there are some weeds growing out of it's back, LOL, so you know it hasn't moved for awhile.
This is a wild boar. See it's tusk? It also has short stubby feet & grisly hair. A year ago this last winter there were some wild hogs here by the campgrounds. They were making messes rooting the ground, so traps were set, pigs were caught, & THEY WERE SERVED IN THE RESTAURANT AS GROUND PORK PATTIES.

I think these are bears. What appears to be a cigarette in the top picture turns out to be one of the many lizards around here, as you can see in the lower picture. These 2 bears are carved out of tree stumps.

I checked the water temperature in the swimming pool & it feels a little cooler, so think I'll go swimming today. The pool has just been too hot.

I heard this week that my picture of me singing Karaoke at the July 4th day festivities was published in the paper, but I haven't seen it yet.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.......................................................Ron

Museum 3

I had heard of the Buster Brown Camera, but never saw one. There are many antique cameras here & they'd sell some of them to have money for other projects. At the moment they are ready to add onto the museum. I haven't taken pictures in the machinery bldg. yet. So if you are interested in owning an antique camera, let me know. In sending the picture of the old wood stove, I got a reply with pictures from my friend Steve Spence who uses veggie oil for vehicles & generates his own electricity also. He has a wood stove for cooking & baking. He sent me pictures of his. Here is what he said:
It was sitting in a warehouse for 7 years. Customer ordered for y2k and never picked up. It was built in china in '98. I got it half price last year.
\Steve Spence Director, Green-Trust http://www.green-trust.org/ http://www.green-trust.org/bookshop/
Here is an old wood burning steam engine. Where now is the northbound lanes of SR 17, there used to be railroad tracks that ran through Wauchula. This engine never ran on these tracks, but a local man who owned it, as well as the Revell Crate Co., donated it to the museum. So they loaded it on a truck. The DOT police caught them right after they went over a bridge & told them they had to have a permit to cross the bridge as it was overweight. So they asked them, "What do you want us to do? Take it back onto the other side of the bridge?" Well, they let them go. There is a big power show here every March at this park.
1914 was the year. Sort of surprised it is wood burning, not coal. I'm sure it took a lot of wood to produce the power. One nice thing about Florida though is MOST of it is flat land.

Sign is self explanatory.


Have a nice day,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ron

Sunshine Thunderstorm

I was sitting here watching TV & on the PC. ALL OF A SUDDEN, I heard thunder with another clap behind that one about 3 seconds later & it IMMEDIATELY STARTED POURING RAIN. So I rapidly unplugged the PC & external antenna. Then I grabbed the camera to take a picture of it. The sun was still shining. Of course this was at 7 PM tonight, so the sun was well in the west. We got .25" of rain in 10 minutes. Now it is 40 minutes later & Debbie, the mgr., & friends are ready to play Pickle Ball. Nice thing is the rain cooled the temperature off 10 degrees. Now it is just a slightly overcast. Will have the last of the one part of the museum to put on the blog tomorrow. Ron

Got Cha

If this bear trap caught you, you'd be in bad shape. It was all I could do was to lift it. Must have been 40+#. Looks like it would take 2 people to set it & if the pointed teeth inside the caught you, it would break a leg. There are not any known bears in this county now, but there are black bears in Florida.
Let's see if we can get you again. Do you have any idea what this is?
This is a fruit caliper. Remember this county is all agricultural. Citrus, vegetables, & beef cattle is the majority of products.
Used to be the CUCUMBER CAPITAL, but not as much anymore. A lot of squash & melons grown here.

I had only remember seeing these in museums, but at 18 months old, I fell against a wood burning stove & got a bald spot which I still have. I do remember my grandmother having a wood stove for heat. Standing next to it. Hot on one side & cold on the other side of my body.

Speaking of HOT, it is supposed to be around 92-94 all this week with lows to be around 75 every night.

Museum 2

Self explanatory, BUT don't try to pronounce it that way.
Wa-chu-la is more like it. I haven't seen any Sand Hill Cranes here either. Just some cattle Egrets. One of which stood right out in the thunderstorm last night.
This is a casting of a Mammoth jaw bone. Boy Scouts along with Mitchell Hope uncovered it. It came from a time of about 25 millions years ago & it's tusk was 9' long. This has been the best specimen found in Florida & was given to the Smithsonian Institution.
Ladies: Do you remember laying your curling iron on top of the stove to get hot? Well, that's what this is, a HOT CURLING IRON.
Old double copper washing machine. I remember wringers like this. Got my hand in one once & went all the way to my elbow. I couldn't get it out, but a neighbor JUST HAPPENED BY & got me out.
This was the 1st time strawberries had ever been air mailed. They went to NY & brought quite a price for that time, but also remember this airplane had to make 5 stops along the way for refueling.

Well, supposed to be a little cooler today. Only 91 for a high. Sun is shining bright. We got thunderstorms last night. 1.2" of rain with it.

Hope you all went to vote "NO" to Rosie O'Donnell to being the host of "THE PRICE IS RIGHT" Ron

Hardee County Museum

I spent most of my afternoon at the museum. I am only able to attach 5 pictures to a story, so this is the 1st installment. Straight ahead as you walk in the door is this scene with a wall Murial, depicting the past history. Seminole Indians here & 3 Indian wars. This county is agricultural with citrus & beef mostly now. No manufacturing in the county.
On the sign-in desk is a moonshine still, with complete instructions on how to make moonshine.
Stepping into the room on the right is this story. Goes back 65 million years. The 1st horses were small as the one in the circle. They were forest animals. The tan one is like Zebras now & present horses as the biggest gray one. Someone did a lot of work on this. Besides being painted, some of it was sculptured.
This is an alligator skin, 11+ feet long. They had some artist drawings of how Indians wrestled them. I know I wouldn't do that!!! I sure enjoyed rubbing my hand over this one's skin though.
This is just inside the door. Must be over 100 antique cameras. If any of you have interest in antique cameras, let me know. They plan to sell some of them to have money to work on other projects. They already have plans to expand the museum.

I am back into the campgrounds & gonna be here for 2 weeks. It is hot here, but I spent most of my time in air conditioning today.

In another blog, I will send a picture of me holding something BIG!!! Also I have a picture I will let you guess what it is. I sure do enjoy going to museums. Also the museum attendant was great. She is Sandy, the photographer I put in the blog that was multi-tasking, (eating ice cream as she photographed). I met her husband today also.

Have a great weekend..............................................................Ron

Wedding Chapel?

I got off the interstate & this was what I saw. May not have been in the best section of St. Petersburg, but I got out of the bus to take the picture. Besides the house being pink, the fence & sidewalk is red. I thought I'd introduce myself to Helen, but the gate was locked.

When I got back to the campgrounds today, I went swimming to cool off, but the water in the swimming pool was almost body temperature. Tomorrow, I check into the campground for 2 weeks.

Hope you are able to stay cool,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ron

Convertible car ride

And the Thunder Rolls & the Lightning Strikes. Garth Brooks did a song, "Thunder Rolls", which I didn't like, but I went & downloaded it. Unfortunately it doesn't say the lightning strikes or I would have made a video slide presentation. After Greg & I got done putting the new front tires on the bus after 12:30 AM in the Wal-Mart parking lot, I was just about ready to head out on the road, but then I got a phone call. Wanna go to Steak & Shake? You buying? Yes they said, so I went.
This is the same couple I did their wedding pictures. So they picked me up & we headed for Steak & Shake, which must have been over 20 miles away. We went with the top down. As bad as these look, there were also stars in the sky, one not very far from this set of clouds. We never felt a drop of rain. I was looking through the camera & kept thinking there was an overpass coming up, but I was sitting in the back seat & it was the windshield. Pictures here don't do the situation really justice as it was unbelievably how the cloud lit up.
So it was 3:30 AM this morning before I got back to the bus & slept in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Going south on SR 41 I saw this sign. I got pulled off the road & had to walk back to take the picture. Little did I know it was gonna play a part today. Remember when I had a blowout on I-275 & a minister picked me up when I was hitchhiking? Today I picked up a guy walk whose car had ran out of gas. I told him about a minister who picked me up. Then he told me he is a minister from California here for a conference. I took him to a gas station & dropped him off there. Gave him one of my cards. Wish I had taken a picture of him to put in my blog, so his friends could have see this back home. Well, at least he can tell them.
This is a new front tire I got put on last night. New rims also. Tubeless 10.00 X 22.5 tubeless. All my other tires are tube type with split rim. These tires only had 1,000 miles put on them. They still have the tits on the side, which you can see against the grey rims. I'll have to buy a can of black spray paint to paint them black.
So after dropping him off & ended up with time to spare waiting on another friend who wasn't home, I came to Panera Bread to do my Internet. 1st time here & it is nice inside with relaxed atmosphere & LOOK AT THIS ROLL!!! Strawberry cream!!! Wow!!!

Besides that, it is hot outside, so I am soaking up their air conditioning, & several glasses of their delicious lemonade.

Hope you are all having a good week. Today is HUMP DAY. Ron

Why did the chicken fly into the tree?

I am at the junkyard on my week out from the campground. Yesterday I saw this chicken flying around in these small trees. Then it also stood on the ground & just like jumped up in the air a small amount. It looked like it was eating leaves off of the tree, but that wasn't the story.

There are only 3 chickens left at the junkyard. Gregg tried to catch them all & sell them, but these 3 escaped capture, so Gregg decided they could fend for themselves.

They survive very well here in Florida. Berries is what this one was eating. I can remember as a kid that a few chickens that we had, had to fend for themselves also. I don't know what they ate, but I remember them scratching the ground. We would also occasionally get a few eggs. Had to look for them in different places as those chickens wandered even though we had a chicken house.

Weather is hot here & supposed to be getting even hotter with more humidity. Got 4 tires for the rear of the bus, so now Tuesday, I'm supposed to get 2 almost new ones for the front.

Have a good week,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ron

Fireworks

They were pretty to look at even though they weren't as spectacular as I've seen, since this is just a small community & did only what they were able to afford.

As to the pictures, I didn't take my tripod, which could have improved them. Also the smoke sort of took away from them in some pictures. So I picked the ones I liked best in RED,WHITE, BLUE, & GREEN.

We actually were sitting in the Thousand Trails campground, across the road from the county park. So you see trees in the foreground.
Not too many blue ones & this was the prettiest one I got a picture of. There was another one about to burst inside of this one as you can see the white rocket streak going toward the center. We did get 1/2" of rain yesterday & it was a question if the fireworks would happen last night. 2 communities on the Atlantic Ocean had theirs cancelled. Flagler Beach, where I took my friend's Greg & Brenda's wedding pictures were delayed because of rain. Daytona Beach where the fireworks happens from a barge in the water had waves as high as 6' high & some of the fireworks fell into the ocean.
If you watch the Nascar race on TV Saturday night, which is at Daytona Beach, they might show some of the fireworks.
This picture isn't spectacular because of the fireworks, but because I can see the backside of a couple who works here at the campgrounds & recognize them. Must have just been some good timing as different people had some small fireworks & it lit their backsides up as the camera snapped the picture

Now this morning, I've been UNHAPPY TWICE!!! I went to put bread in the toaster & there was a frog on my sink beside the faucet. So I got a piece of paper toweling to get him OUT OF THE BUS!!! He hopped & it took several times to catch him, but I finally caught him, (partially squeezing him with his slimy skin against mine), & got him to the steps by the door. Opened the door & used my foot to chase him away of which he hopped the wrong direction 1st before he went outside.

So I went to the kitchen sink to wash my hands immediately. While doing that, it hit me, "IDIOT ME", I should have taken the picture before I got him out of the bus. He was by the faucet. Maybe he wanted a drink? LOL A picture of a frog beside the faucet with water running could have made the news, LOL. Oh well, not gonna get pictures of everything. Until next time, have a good week, Ron